Motorists used to seeing Donald Daniels sitting on the median of the Stratford Road exit ramp off Silas Creek Parkway didn't see his smiling face on Friday.

A memorial of balloons and flowers adorns the curb where for years Daniels has sold newspapers for the Winston-Salem Journal.

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Daniels remains in critical condition at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center with injuries police said are life-threatening. Police said he was run over by a tractor-trailer Thursday morning.

Dorothy Huneycutt travels the road almost every day and over the years has gotten to know Daniels and his infectious personality.

"I look for him in this area every day and was disappointed when he wasn't here," Huneycutt said. "There would be days that I'd come through here and I'd be a little down, and if I had two seconds, speaking with him it made a difference in my life."

The accident is also hitting home for Donald's co-workers.

"He's a great guy -- hard working. He's working every day to support his family. That's tragic. It's so sad that it happened to him out here," Carl Harrison said while selling newspapers at his post at the Five Points intersection.

Police said Daniels wasn't able to move out of the way of the oncoming truck because he is disabled. He was injured several years ago while hanging Christmas lights.

Harrison said he knows the danger of the job, but what happened to his friend was an accident.

"It's dangerous out here," Harrison said. "You just have to be aware. I mean, I don't think there's anything you can really do. It was just a bad accident."